Interlaken or Marseille?

In Interlaken, swimming is a short summer bonus rather than a reason to come. Lake Thun's grassy lidos and shingle at Neuhaus are pleasant after a day in the hills, while Lake Brienz at Bönigen is a striking turquoise but bracingly cold.

Marseille has a proper sea season and much more choice. There are the family beaches of the Prado, morning swims at the Catalans or the Vallon des Auffes, and half-day trips by foot or boat to the clear inlets of the Calanques and the Frioul coves. The mistral and occasional closures after heavy rain are the only catches.

Interlaken feeds you well enough on fondue, rösti and raclette, with a run of Asian and Middle Eastern places for variety, but nothing in town is worth travelling for. Its best meals happen higher up, at a hut terrace above Mürren or with cheese from an Alpine dairy, and many visitors simply picnic.

Marseille is a much more rewarding place to eat. You can settle in for a long bouillabaisse in a Corniche fishing harbour, snack on panisses and wood-fired pizza, browse the spice shops and North African bakeries of Noailles, and drink rosé from Cassis or Bandol. Just steer clear of the tired set menus around the old port.

Interlaken grew up as a base for the mountains, and it shows. Beyond the belle époque hotels and the Kursaal on the Höheweg, and a few old timber houses across the river in Unterseen, there is little to see before you board a train.

Marseille has more than two and a half thousand years of history, spread across a working city. You can climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde, cross from Fort Saint-Jean to the MuCEM, explore Le Panier and the Vieille Charité, visit the crypts of Saint-Victor and take the boat to the Château d'If. That is several full days of sightseeing.

Interlaken goes to bed early because its visitors are up early for trains and hikes. The going out there is comes from a handful of backpacker pubs and basement clubs near the hostels, plus the casino in the Kursaal, and the Höheweg is quiet well before midnight.

Marseille stays out much later. Graffiti-covered bars and small music venues fill the streets around Cours Julien and La Plaine, pastis terraces line the Vieux-Port, and electronic nights take over old warehouses. Some central streets feel edgy late at night, so a taxi home is wise.

Interlaken has the edge, with mountain scenery on a scale the coast cannot match. The Lauterbrunnen valley with its waterfalls, including Trümmelbach thundering inside the rock, and the high trails from Grindelwald First are both within an hour. A longer rail journey climbs to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454m, above the Aletsch glacier. Paragliding, canyoning and rafting on the Lütschine all start from town, though low cloud can hide the peaks for days.

Marseille's wild side is white limestone and deep blue sea. The Calanques national park begins at the edge of the city, with the coastal path to Sugiton and En-Vau, famous sport-climbing cliffs, and sea kayaking and diving around the Riou archipelago. Go in spring or autumn, because summer heat and fire risk can close the massifs to walkers.

Interlaken's trips are easy and scenic by rail and steamer. Arcaded Bern and castle-topped Thun are each under an hour away, Spiez and Oberhofen are on the lakes, Ballenberg is near Brienz, and Lucerne is a longer ride over the Brünig Pass.

Marseille gives you a richer spread of famous places. Aix-en-Provence and Cassis are close by, Roman Arles and papal Avignon are about an hour away, and Nîmes and the Pont du Gard fit in a long day. With a car you can add the hill villages of the Luberon and Les Baux.

Neither city has a zoo or an aquarium, so in both the outings are built around the landscape. Interlaken's mountain days are the easier to fill. Summit stations such as the Harder Kulm have playgrounds and short marked walks, and the cliff walks above Grindelwald thrill older children. With no science museums to fall back on, a wet day can drag. The Jungfraujoch's altitude is not wise for very young children, and pushchairs manage best on the valley floor and the gentler panoramic paths.

Marseille's museums, the MuCEM included, are aimed at adults, so the sea does most of the work. The Prado beaches have lawns and gentle water, Parc Borély behind them adds a lake and a botanical garden, and boat trips to the Frioul islands and the Château d'If go down well. The little tourist train up to Notre-Dame de la Garde saves small legs a climb. Outside the swimming months there is much less to fill a day with children.

Interlaken is far simpler. You can walk the whole town between its two stations, and a joined-up network of mainline trains, narrow-gauge lines, cog railways, gondolas and steamers covers the Jungfrau region without a car. Expect crowds on the most popular mountain trains in summer.

Marseille's core from the Vieux-Port to Cours Julien is walkable though hilly, served by two metro lines, trams and the little ferries across the harbour. The beaches and Calanques trailheads mean slow buses stuck in traffic, and the Provence villages are much easier by car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Marseille offers more to browse. Interlaken's Höheweg is mostly watch stores for tour groups, army knives, cuckoo clocks and outdoor gear, and Brienz woodcarving is the one craft worth seeking out.

In Marseille, the things to take home are green cubes of olive-oil soap and painted santon figures from the workshops of Le Panier. Noailles is packed with fabrics and kitchenware, and Cours Julien has small independent boutiques, though anyone after luxury labels will soon run out of streets.

Interlaken is costly at every turn. Swiss hotel and restaurant prices are only the start, because the mountain railways and cable cars, the Jungfraujoch above all, are the real expense, and hostels and picnics only soften the bill.

Marseille is much easier on the wallet. Street food and market snacks are cheap, public transport is inexpensive, walking in the Calanques is free and several museums charge little. Rooms near the port and beaches cost more in high summer.

Interlaken's stage life is seasonal and small. Its signature is the open-air amateur William Tell in the woods each summer, alongside folklore evenings with alphorns and yodelling, and anyone wanting a proper orchestra has to go to Bern.

Marseille has a full calendar. The art deco Opéra, the Théâtre de la Criée in the old fish market and the Friche la Belle de Mai in a converted tobacco factory cover opera, drama and dance. The city also has deep roots in French hip-hop and world music, celebrated each autumn at the Fiesta des Suds.

Neither town is restful at its centre, and in both the calm lies just outside. In Interlaken it is Alpine quiet: sizeable spas in the grand Höheweg hotels, early steamer crossings, and peaceful nights up in Wengen or Mürren away from the coach groups.

Marseille's version is Mediterranean and unhurried rather than spa-based. Think a long harbour lunch on the Corniche or an afternoon on a terrace, with a few local hammams. Those wanting real rest base themselves in Cassis or a country house inland.